You can always trust Tony Ross to teach little ones a useful lesson with loads of humour and the perfect level of cheekiness. The grown-ups keep telling the Little Princess to wash her hands – after she’s been playing in the mud, after she’s used her potty, and after she’s sneezed, but why, she asks. The maid explains, gleefully and very vividly, and you can guarantee the Little Princess will never not wash her hands again. She still gets the last word, and the last laugh though! Full of Ross's brilliant touches of characterisation and silliness, this will be a hit with toddlers and parents alike.
The Little Princess loves getting her hands dirty. The trouble is, she hates washing them. Until she finds out all about germs, nasties, dirties and all the other horrible things that lurk and can make you ill...
In 2020 Tony Ross’ creation helped children and families through the COVID19 pandemic, in I Don’t Want to Wash My Hands, first published in 2001, the Little Princess learns all about the hidden, invisible nasties that can cause illnesses that live on our hands, and how the simple act of washing those hands removes them; there couldn’t be a more prescient message!
Hilarious and a godsend to parents. The Daily Mail
Hilarious and a godsend to parents. Practical Parenting
A fabulous book...very humorous Bookbag
Author
About Tony Ross
Born in 1938 in Wandsworth, South London, Tony Ross never though about a career in art, but says he fell into it after his dream of being a cowboy disintegrated when a letter he wrote to John Wayne was never replied to.
After Liverpool College of Art, Tony became an art director at an Advertising Agency but after a particularly bad day in the office he gave up his job to go into teaching at Manchester Polytechnic.
His first book was published in 1976 and as well as his own, he has illustrated over 1000 books for authors such as Roald Dahl, David Walliams, Paula Danziger and Michael Palin, which are published all over the world. His series of books written with Jeanne Willis featuring the extra terrestrial teacher, Dr Xargle, has established a huge following of fans. As has his fantastic and fun illustrations in the Horrid Henry series. A TV adaptation of his much-loved Little Princess series is currently showing on Channel 5’s Milkshake.
On the increased demand for his book, Tony Ross has said, “When I first wrote the story it was about cleanliness at meal times, never in a million years did I think we’d be in the public health crisis we are in and that people would be reading the book in this way! I just hope that it can help, and that all the little princesses and princes out there learn to wash their hands!”
